Pass the Legos and Spread the Hyggë

Our joyfully anticipated Christmas in Sweden was cancelled when we got Covid. The well thought out, lovingly handmade and purchased gifts for Kenz, Diane, Pico and Kiwi were put in a cupboard, all except for the edible ones which were eaten, excluding the cat delicacies.

My latent craft skills came to light when I decided to immortalize Pico, Kiwi and Shrimpy, 2 cats and a dog in hand crafted Christmas ornaments. Not just accurate likenesses of the beasts but mythical figures to highlight their heroic selves. Cue hero music.

Pico became a swashbuckling Zoro-esque figure with a flying magical cape, Kiwi a feline Zelda with wings and fighting stick and Shrimpy (Zayn's rescue dog) revealed her inner Sir Didymus, a knight of heroic proportions in the movie Labyrinth.

March came around, Youssef traveled to Saudi Arabia and I realized it was high time to be Jultomten (Santa), enjoy the Scandinavian custom of hyggë in Lund, Sweden and deliver the 2 alter-ego cat warriors to their true selves. Hyggë: Scandinavian sense of togetherness, coziness in the present moment.

My first mission was securing safe passage slipping by the Danish Lego High Security Team at Copenhagen airport.

Øresund Bridge

Lund is a hop, skip and a jump from Copenhagen, Denmark. I stepped out of Copenhagen airport (Kastrup) onto a train that travels through a tunnel under the Øresund Sound onto a man-made island ( Danish side) where the Øresund bridge starts, crossing to the Swedish side to Lund where I take a bus to Kenz and Diane's home. Easy Peasy.

The idea of building a link between Denmark and Sweden was introduced in1910 but numerous obstacles, location disagreements and 2 World Wars put an end to discussions.

The genius design of the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe is staggering. Building a man-made island, Peberholm on the Øresund sound, solved the air traffic space problem from nearby Copenhagen airport. The open space in the sound allowed takeoff avoiding the bridge's high towers, also allowing taller boats to pass and avoid ice floes that tend to accumulate at man-made structures.

Despite construction setbacks, the discovery of 16 unexploded World War II bombs on the seafloor and an inadvertently skewed tunnel segment, the bridge opened in 2000 dropping the travel time by boat from 5+ hours to 40 minutes.

A funny note, Salt Island (Saltholm) exists nearby so they named the man-made island Pepper Island (Peberholm).

Lund

Once in Lund, 5 days vanished like a freshly baked saffron bun, going Swedish doesn't take long..

Lund is a city of atmospheric streets and colorful homes mixed with top notch technology and a highly regarded University. The house on the left displays curved glass windows, The brick designs add an interesting colorful pattern.

Kenz took me on a journey of discovery, underground to the Drotten church ruins from the 11th century, visiting the local farm, paying Diane a visit at work, stepping inside Lund Cathedral, pushups at the outdoor gym, walking and talking, stepping into a candy store full of distinct licorice flavors, tasting the Swedish cream bun, and exploring the Botanical Garden.

Unable to visit Kenz's work with Zenseact https://www.zenseact.com/about-us/ in Gothenburg we went to Diane's office in the Faculty of Science. Diane's recent podcast interview makes her quite a celebrity, in our world. Click on link.

The 15th century Drotten church ruins are accessed via a side door to a restaurant and down a stairs. But the jewel of the city is Lund's Romanesque Cathedral with its1380 astronomical clock. Currently the Cathedral is having its two towers repaired.

On the weekend we supported Kenz and Diane's favorite soccer team Malmö Rosengård as they beat Eskilstuna. In my mind's eye, the 4 gentlemen seated in front of me became 4 of my Stottrup Uncles; Sigurd, Helge, Svend and Leif playing out like a Stottrup family reunion.

Their asides in Swedish in the heat of the game and antics brought back memories of a mischievous bunch of Scandawhovian scalawags. They were all known for their mischievous tricks played on each other and unsuspecting victims, most of the innocent variety but some of a more serious high jinx.

Southeastern Sweden has what is allegedly the finest beach in Sweden (according to the signs). Swedes are not boasters, they pose possibilities asking you to make up your own minds. What characteristics do Swedes possess? According to website polls and observation they tend to be independent, fair, structured, empathetic, private, honest, open-minded, creative and responsible.

At Sandhammaren Beach the fine, white sand was wild, expansive, and empty except for a few (unaffected by the cold) flip flop wearing Swedes having a picnic and a wind surfer enjoying the ride. Crazy Chickens...

Lifeguards must have been weather proof like the unaffected flip flop wearers and wind surfer. The Sandhammaren Lifeguard Tower was built in 1860. The Lifeboat station built in 1892 posted a list of rescues with photos. It took 8 horses to pull the lifeboat out to launch on the icy Baltic Sea to save a life. NOT my idea of a career path.

Sweden has their own megalithic monument in the shape of a ship erected between 500-1000 AD. Burial ground, cult center, sundial? Set high on a hill by the coast, it could have been viewed from the sea as a reckoning point for Viking sailors.

Moments of happiness arrive being with family, cooking together, doing a puzzle, watching your favorite team win. Even Pico the cat who has never been interested in my visits suddenly started watching me while I slept. Slightly eerie..

For a good belly laugh, pull up the Swedish chef on Youtube especially the Popcorn episode or the one with Danny Kaye. Bork.

Ted Lasso

When we moved to the UK we had several friends encourage us to watch a TV series called Ted Lasso. The series is about an American football coach recruited to the UK to coach an English football (soccer) Premiere League without any prior knowledge of soccer.

Ted Lasso is an updated Gomer Pyle bringing some chuckles from our UK Blanchard friends. They liken Ted Lasso to Dr. Ken Blanchard, the Marty Poppins of Training and Development who has established a supportive work environment always starting off with a hug. Youssef's UK work contingent look on Ken's philosophy of hugging as an unnecessary contact sport. The series is a nice juxtaposition of awe shucks American nice guy mixed with British life.

France comes to UK

it was nice to show and share Bath with friends and celebrate Youssef's birthday when a whirlwind trip brought Dean and Kaly to visit. We took them to the usual historical stops and a few literary sites like the pub where Charles Dickens liked to spend his time.

French Elections

There are 2 candidates left after France's April 10th first vote. Now France has to decide who will lead. France is similarly polarized like the US. Will it be the same, same or a pull to the extreme right towards Hungary and Russia with a desire to leave the EU? We see how poorly Brexit has worked here. The outcome on April 24th could determine our next landing pad.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia, Jim Henson's Muppets and BRLSI.